Apparatus and method for manufacturing a tampon

Abstract

An apparatus for manufacturing a tampon which includes an absorbent body, an accommodating member and a pushing member, includes: an orienting mechanism; a first inserting mechanism that inserts the pushing member into the accommodating member; and a second inserting mechanism that inserts the absorbent body into the accommodating member in which the pushing member is inserted. The orienting mechanism has an opening through which the accommodating member is inputted; a pair of first protruded parts; and a pair of second protruded parts located on other-end side in the longitudinal direction of the opening and protruding inwardly in an opposing manner into the opening, a gap between the pair of first protruded parts, and a gap between the pair of second protruded parts being greater than the external diameter of the minor diameter part and smaller than the external diameter of the major diameter part.

The invention claimed is: 
     
       1. An apparatus for manufacturing a tampon, the tampon including an absorbent body for absorbing liquid, an accommodating member that is cylindrical and accommodates the absorbent body, and a pushing member that is configured to move inside the accommodating member and push the absorbent body out of the accommodating member, the accommodating member including a minor diameter part provided at a first end thereof and a major diameter part provided at a second end thereof, the major diameter part having an external diameter greater than that of the minor diameter part, the major diameter part, at a leading end thereof, including a plurality of petaloid parts, said apparatus comprising:
 an orienting mechanism configured to orient the accommodating member; 
 a first inserting mechanism configured to insert the pushing member into the accommodating member oriented by the orienting mechanism; and 
 a second inserting mechanism configured to insert the absorbent body into the accommodating member in which the pushing member is inserted, 
 the orienting mechanism including:
 an opening through which the accommodating member is inputted; 
 a pair of first protruded parts located on a first side in a longitudinal direction of the opening and protruding inwardly in an opposing manner into the opening; and 
 a pair of second protruded parts located on a second side in the longitudinal direction of the opening and protruding inwardly in an opposing manner into the opening, 
 a gap between the pair of first protruded parts configured to be greater than the external diameter of the minor diameter part and smaller than the external diameter of the major diameter part, and 
 a gap between the pair of second protruded parts configured to be greater than the external diameter of the minor diameter part and smaller than the external diameter of the major diameter part, 
 
 wherein 
 when the opening of the orienting mechanism receives the accommodating member in a manner that a longitudinal direction of the accommodating member lies along the longitudinal direction of the opening,
 one of the pair of first protruded parts and the pair of second protruded parts is positioned where the minor diameter part passes between said one of the pair of first protruded parts and the pair of second protruded parts, and 
 the other of the pair of first protruded parts and the pair of second protruded parts is positioned (a) where the major diameter part cannot pass between said other of the pair of first protruded parts and the pair of second protruded parts and (b) to contact with a part of the accommodating member that is nearer to a center of the accommodating member in the longitudinal direction than the petaloid parts. 
 
 
     
     
       2. An apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein, when the opening of the orienting mechanism receives the accommodating member in such a manner that the longitudinal direction of the accommodating member lies along the longitudinal direction of the opening,
 the other of the pair of first protruded parts and the pair of second protruded parts is positioned to contact with the part of the accommodating member that is closer to the petaloid parts than to the center of the accommodating member in the longitudinal direction. 
 
     
     
       3. An apparatus according  claim 1 , wherein
 the accommodating member includes an annular protrusion provided nearer to the first end than the minor diameter part, 
 the gap between the pair of first protruded parts and the gap between the pair of second protruded parts are configured to be smaller than an external diameter of the annular protrusion, and 
 when the opening of the orienting mechanism receives the accommodating member in such a manner that the longitudinal direction of the accommodating member lies along the longitudinal direction of the opening,
 the one of the pair of first protruded parts and the pair of second protruded parts is positioned to not come into contact with the annular protrusion. 
 
 
     
     
       4. An apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the orienting mechanism further includes:
 a first jet part that is provided at a position opposing the first protruded parts and configured to inject air towards the first protruded parts; and 
 a second jet part that is provided at a position opposing the second protruded parts and configured to inject air towards the second protruded parts. 
 
     
     
       5. An apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a transport path configured to transport the accommodating member and to input the accommodating member into the opening, 
 wherein 
 the transport path has an accumulating part configured to accumulate a plurality of accommodating members in a side-by-side manner, and 
 the transport path is configured to input the accommodating members accumulated in the accumulating part one-by-one into the opening in such a manner that the major diameter part of the inputted accommodating member comes into contact with said one of the pair of first protruded parts and the pair of second protruded parts. 
 
     
     
       6. An apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein
 the opening has a rectangular shape, and 
 a distance in the longitudinal direction between an edge of the opening on the first side and the first protruded parts is equal to a distance in the longitudinal direction between an edge of the opening on the second side and the second protruded parts.